The 4400 Children
by Patrick18
Summary: Four cousins living a normal life in Georgia are suddenly abducted and return as part of The 4400. They have to learn how to adjust to their new lives and control their abilities "The Future" has given to them.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: Abduction

May 14, 2004

Lawrenceville, Georgia

Patrick Green walked through the woods near the apartment where he lived with his family. Behind him followed his sister Samantha Doss, and cousins Xavier Turner and Antione Cornish. The four of them were headed to the lake Patrick and Samantha had recently discovered while exploring the woods. School had ended several weeks ago and they were happily enjoying their summer.

"We're almost there." Patrick told them.

"Is it a big lake?" asked Antione.

"Yeah, it's even bigger than the one at the house."

The four of them eventually moved through the trees stopping in front of the lake. Geese were swimming in the water some of them searching for food. Samantha bent down to look in the water and saw small fish swimming in it. Xavier skipped a rock into the water while Antione move a stick through it watching the surface ripple. Patrick just stared around taking in the view daydreaming in his own world. He was quickly interrupted by Antione and Samantha who started fighting over the stick.

"I want to see it!" demanded Samantha.

"Too bad I had a first."

Antione stuck his tongue out at Samantha and she pushed him. Patrick and Xavier immediately tried to separate them and the four of them argued among each other.

"Buddha you're always starting stuff." Xavier complained using Antione's nickname.

"Shut up, Jroc!" Antione retorted using his nickname.

"Both of you ge-" Patrick began but he stopped in mid-sentence because at that moment an abrupt sound came out of nowhere. They looked around them looking for the strange noise. It sounded like a machine and the noise grew higher while at the same time the volume increased blocking out the sounds of the woods.

Patrick grimaced as the sound started hurting his ears then he suddenly felt dizzy. He noticed the others reacting the same way. Samantha fell, Xavier grabbed a tree for support, while Antione swayed slightly. A white light appeared above them and the four of them looked up at it squinting and shielding their eyes with their hands because it was so bright. Air blew around them rustling bushes and moving Samantha's hair while at the same time Patrick felt as if something had grabbed him. The roaring of the wind drowned out the original mechanical sound and his last memories were of him, his sister, and cousins leaving the ground and the feeling like he was flying. The light, the strange sounds, and wind quickly stopped as if nothing happened and the woods returned to it's quiet, normal state. But the children had disappeared.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Return

August 14, 2004

Near Mount Rainier, Washington

All Patrick could see was white light and hear the wind blowing. He didn't feel hot or cold and his body felt numb like it had fallen asleep. Voices were echoing in his head and he heard the sounds of people screaming which scared him and he felt like he was falling. The light and noise suddenly went away and everything was silent. He quickly realized he was somewhere else and it wasn't the woods near his apartment. Above him were mountains with snow on top and he was standing on a sandy shore of a large lake. He felt cold and could see his breathe, he folded his arms which was odd because before he arrived at this strange place it was a hot summer day and it had been lighter outside too, but here everything was dark like it was early in the morning. He realized he wasn't alone because thousands of other people surrounded him. Men, woman, and children of different ages and races were standing around him looking just as confused and scared as he was. A thick fog surrounded all of them. He suddenly remembered Xavier, Antione, and Samantha and noticed they weren't here. He looked around in all directions shouting their names.

"Jroc, Buddha, Samantha!"

"Patrick!" shouted back a familiar voice.

Samantha emerged from between two people looking close to crying. She ran to him breathing deeply.

"What happened? Where are we?" She asked in a scared voice.

"I don't know." He replied.

The sound of running caused him to turn around and he saw Xavier and Antione running to them coming to a stop with expressions of bewilderment.

"Why does everything look different?" Antione asked.

"Maybe someone knocked us out and kidnapped us." Xavier suggested.

Patrick just shook his head unable to answer their questions or figure out what had happened to all of them. The wind started to blow the fog away and they spent the next few minutes looking at their surroundings. Over the heads of the adults standing in front of them the sound of a woman's voice through a bullhorn could be heard.

"Ladies and gentleman, my name is Diana Skouris. Please just stay where you are and are people will do everything they can to assist you."

The woman started to give instructions for anyone who needed medical attention to step in front of the crowd while another person repeated it in Spanish.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Quarantine

National Threat Assessment Command (NTAC)

Pacific Northwest Division

Seattle, Washington

After The 4400 returned they were immediately rounded up and transported by military convoy to a government building on the outside of Seattle. They were placed in a quarantine ward which consisted of several barracks connected to bathrooms and the largest room was the dayroom. Dozens of tables of tables were arranged around the room ate their meals, played games, and read newspapers and magazines that were provided. Video games were another form of entertainment there. There were also clusters of televisions that provided news and they had access to the Internet via rows of computer stations. The entire ward was made of cinder-block walls and high concrete ceilings which were all painted beige. The returnees were also forced to wear the same khaki work shirts and pants which blended in with their surroundings.

Patrick, Xavier, Antione, and Samantha sat at one of the tables in the dayroom completely bored. It had been nearly a week since they returned and they were placed in the quarantine with the rest of the 4400s and it felt like a prison. Patrick looked up from the magazine he was reading glancing at Samantha who was silently sniffing with her head on her arms. When they first arrived hear the first day she cried herself to sleep thinking they had been arrested. He, Xavier, and Antione had done their best to comfort her. Patrick didn't blame her for feeling locked up especially since they weren't allowed outside or to call their family and friends.

He put their magazine down staring into space thinking back to that day when they first returned. The four of them had been some of the last 4400s interviewed on camera by government employees and their numbers were 4125(Patrick), 4126(Xavier), 4127(Antione), and 4128(Samantha) which represented the order they had received their interview among the 4,400 others. Patrick remembered his interview and how nervous he felt talking to a complete stranger. He provided his name, his age, birthday, where he and the others went missing, and what he believed the date to be. It was a shock to discover that they had been gone for three months which seemed only seconds from their abduction to their return. Another surprise was his discovery that they were all the way in Washington. It still wasn't as strange as people abducted as far away as Africa or being from the 1940s without having aged a day.

"Oh my god! said Xavier in an annoyed tone. How long are we going to be here. I want to go home!"

"Those stupid government people will never tell us. Patrick said. They made up those dumb excuses that we might have diseases or something just to keep us locked up here."

"I know. Antione agreed. We're not even sick. I don't feel sick."

One of the TVs in the room caught his attention. It was on MNCN and there were two women debating on the Barbara Yates Show about The 4400. He got up from the table and moved closer looking up at the screen. The others followed behind him.

"All we're asking for is access. These people deserve to see their families, to receive legal representation they're private citizens who've done nothing wrong." Said April Holfield an ACLU Attorney.

"We don't know that. replied Barbara Yates. It's been less than a week for all we know these people could be walking time bombs, disease vectors, spies."

Patrick shook his head in disbelief. "How the hell are we suppose to be spies were just kids!"

"Yeah and what is a disease vector anyway." Said Xavier.

"Are we going to blow up? Samantha asked timidly.

"No don't listen to that crazy lady. Patrick told her. She doesn't even know what she's talking about."

He stormed away in anger heading for one of the computers. _Why did everyone seem to hate the returnees? They had never done anything to deserve being treated that way. The way he saw it he and the rest of them were victims. They had been kidnapped by aliens most likely. The government should let them all go home instead of keeping them locked up in this boring place like prisoners._


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Reintroduction

October 2004

After six weeks in quarantine things started to change. The previous evening the televisions and computers were turned off and they daily newspapers and magazines they received stopped coming. All of the 4400 had been put into the dayroom with several NTAC agents. Patrick felt uncomfortable being cramped together with so many strangers. To his right stood Xavier, Antione, and Samantha. He wondered what was going on because none of the government people had explained.

In the front of the room was a small dais where a podium with a microphone sat. The front of the podium was decorated with a gold seal showing the NTAC logo. Behind the podium stood an elderly man who was preparing for a speech.

"Ladies and gentleman, if I may have your attention for a moment." the man said in the microphone gesturing with his hands so the audience would quiet. He waited a few seconds before continuing. "For those of you who don't know me, my name is Dennis Ryland, and I'm director of of the NTAC offices here in Seattle. To keep a long story short, I'm the one tasked with overseeing your investigations and hopefully finding some answers. I'd be lying if I said I understood what all of you must be feeling as you think about returning to a world that...that's moved on without you in many respects."

Patrick looked at Ryland confused. _What did he mean that the world has moved on without them? He and the others had friends and family who would never do that kind of thing._

Leaning on the podium, Ryland said, "While I regret the need to keep you here these past weeks, I hope you've come to understand that this wasn't done with malice, but instead because we simply didn't know if we might be dealing with some form of contagion that you might have acquired from...wherever it is that you were taken. I'm happy to say that none of the tests conducted to date have found any evidence of infection of any kind." A collective murmur of relief rippled through through the crowd. Patrick felt some of his anxiety since their return go away. He didn't really believe that they were sick but still worried about it just in case the doctors discovered they actually were.

"We have no reason to keep you here any longer. Ryland said after the commotion died down. Therefore, it's my pleasure to tell you that once we've arranged some new required protocols, you will be released from quarantine and permitted to go wherever you wish."

There was the sound of applause and the returnees all shook hands and patted each other on the back. Patrick, his sister, and cousins cheered and hugged each other happily anticipating their return home.

Waiting for everyone to once more settle down, Ryland gestured with his hands for the group to again give him their attention. "Now, I'm sure it's crossed your minds that this isn't as simple as sending you on your way. Even as we speak, a comprehensive program for relocation and acclimation assistance is being readied that will offer whatever aid you require as you return to your private lives. At the same time, we remain committed to learning everything we can about what happened to each of you.

Ryland continued his remarks for several moments, outlining how the United States government pledged to assist the returnees during the coming transition, such as with job training in order to provide updated vocational skills, health and unemployment insurance, help in finding homes or providing rental vouchers, as well as aiding in the location of surviving relatives and friends for those returnees for whom a next of kin had not yet been notified.

"What if we have nowhere to go?" one man asked. "I've been gone forty-eight years. My wife's dead, and no one's been able to locate my daughter."

"You may stay here as long as you need or want to until you can get back on your feet." Ryland replied. "It's not our intention to turn our backs on you, now or ever."

More instructions followed, detailing how returnees would check in at weekly intervals with regional NTAC offices wherever they decided to relocate. Ryland reiterated the government's position on solving the mystery surrounding the returnees, soliciting the assistance of the 4400 themselves if they perchance learned anything on their own that might aid in the investigation.

"The out-processing will take a few days," he added, "but we expect that everyone will be free to go by the end of the week. In the meantime, we hope to make your last few nights with us as comfortable as possible, and my people stand ready to assist you in anyway as we prepare for your departure. I'll be happy to take questions for a few minutes, but before I do, I just want to thank you all for your cooperation and your patience. I know it hasn't been easy for any of you, but I promise you we'll see through this together."

Hands shot up across the dayroom. Most of the questions dealt with contacting friends and family members, but Patrick and the others were already tuning out those conversations to talk happily about finally returning home. They hadn't seen their family in two months but for to their family it had been five months adding the two months they had been missing. Soon they would be free.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Reunion

NTAC

Seattle, Washington

The day had finally come. All of the 4400 had finally been released from quarantine. Patrick had hardly slept the night before which mostly happened when he tried to sleep on Christmas Eve but he was more excited to see his mom again than opening Christmas presents.

"Good luck." Said the NTAC agent behind the counter. Patrick collected from him the packet of information and vouchers prepared for him by the NTAC team responsible for processing the 4400s' release. On top of the packet was a laminated blue card and matching lanyard, and on the card in bold white print was his quarantine number: 4125. Families or close friends of individual returnees-thousands of whom were at this moment waiting outside the NTAC building or even inside the reception lobby-had been given a matching card in the hopes of facilitating reunions. Patrick thanked the NTAC agent and stepped out the line and waited for Xavier, Antione, and Samantha to receive their packets before the four of them happily walked out of the quarantine center. When they reached the lobby they noticed where armed NTAC agents in paramilitary uniforms stood near the row of glass doors, controlling access to and from the building. Within the high-ceilinged foyer, dozens of people in groups of varying sizes were greeting returnees.

"Look there they are!" Said Antione pointing. All three of their mothers who were sisters stood several feet away waving at them. (The oldest Gloria Green was Patrick and Samantha's mother. The next was Jacqueline Cornish who was Antione's mother and the youngest was Jenny Green who was Xavier's mother.) The of them rushed through the crowd and immediately were hugged and kissed by their mothers. After a few minutes the group decided leave the lobby making their way through the last door leaving behind the place where they had been trapped for six weeks. Once they finally reached outside a throng of people crowded the front lawn of the NTAC office complex, with returnees as well as family and friends engaging in their own reunions. A row of police officers manned a barricade at the outer edge of the lawn, beyond which stood others-representatives of media outlets from around the country and even the world as well as hundreds of interested onlookers who had just come down to see what all the fuss was about.

"Are we staying at a hotel?" Asked Patrick.

"No we're leaving right now." Gloria said. There's a bus taking us to the airport.

After being interviews by a CNN reporter the family managed to get through the crowd and board a bus filled with other returnees and their families. Patrick looked out the windows as the bus drove away. He was glad to see quarantine moving farther away as they were returning home.


End file.
